Jen’s recent post on nautical fiction got me thinking of films set at sea. Not swashbucklers like Master and Commander and Pirates of the Caribbean, or blockbusters like Titanic and Jaws, but more modest tales that take place on the water.
Kon-Tiki (2012) tells the true story of Thor Heyerdahl’s successful crossing of the Pacific. In 1947, Heyerdahl (Pål Sverre Hagen) sought to prove that South Americans had settled on Polynesia, as he and five others embark on a hundred day journey across the sea on a balsa-wood raft, using the same design and materials as South Americans would have used 1,500 years ago. This old-fashioned adventure film was nominated for Best Foreign Picture Academy Award (the DVD gives viewers the option of watching it in English or Norwegian). Also check out the original 1951 documentary as well as his first-person account.
The Perfect Storm (2000) is also based on a true story, chronicled in Sebastian Junger’s nonfiction book. Billy Tyne (George Clooney), captain of the Andrea Gail, takes a fishing-boat crew (including Mark Wahlberg, John C. Reilly and John Hawkes) out despite bad weather. Tyne decides to set sail beyond their ususal location, where their ice machine machine breaks; fearing the fish will spoil, Tyne decides to set sail through a fierce storm rather than wait it out. The storm turns into a hurricane, mechanical failures mount, and the entire crew is lost. The special effects in this tragic tale are outstanding.
Dead Calm (1989) differs from most seafaring films because it takes place in the “dead calm” of the open sea. Rae and John (Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill), who set sail to forget about a terrible accident, encounter Hughie (Billy Zane), the lone survivor of a ship adrift. It’s not long before the couple find out that Hughie is not what he seems, and Hughie kidnaps Rae and their yacht John is left behind on the sinking ship. The setting gives what would may have been an average thriller an interesting twist, as well as one of Kidman’s best performances.
The Poseidon Adventure (1972) is a classic disaster flick from the 1970s. The S.S. Poseiden is on her final voyage when a tidal wave capsizes the ship. Reverand Scott (Gene Hackman) leads the remaining survivors through the ship – from the grand ballroom to the propellor shaft, now the top of the ship, before it sinks. In the tradition of 70s disaster films, it features an all-star cast (including Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Roddy McDowall and Shelley Winters); however, it’s lone Oscar win was for the song “The Morning After” by Maureen McGovern.
Lifeboat (1944) teams director Alfred Hitchcock with a screenplay written by John Steinbeck. In World War II, a ship is torpedoed and several survivors – including journalist Connie Porter (Tallulah Bankhead) – are aboard a small boat waiting to be rescued. When they pull a man out of the water, it turns out he was captain of the German U-boat that bombed their ship, and trouble mounts. Lifeboat combines excellent storytelling and a saga of survival against the very real issues of politics and morality in this sophisticated and unusual film.
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